LA Galaxy release Katai after wife's racist social media posts

The LA Galaxy parted ways with midfielder Aleksandar Katai on Friday after his wife posted a series of messages on social media that the club described earlier this week as "racist and violent."

The Galaxy announced their decision to release the player after meeting with him on Thursday.

In one since-deleted Instagram post, Tea Katai wrote a profane caption, in Serbian, calling on police officers to "kill" those protesting racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Another post, also deleted, showed an apparent looter holding a Nike box, to which Katai wrote "Black Nikes Matter."

The Associated Press reported that Katai also described demonstrators as "disgusting cattle" in another post written in Serbian.

Prior to Thursday's meeting, the team released a statement saying it "strongly condemned the social posts and requested their immediate removal."

"The LA Galaxy stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality," read a statement from the club.

Katai, 29, joined the Galaxy in December after spending two seasons with the Chicago Fire. Though his salary wasn't disclosed, he was signed using targeted allocation money (TAM), meaning it exceeded $612,500, according to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times.

After reaching an agreement with the Serbian international, the Galaxy will not need to pay his outstanding wages, Baxter added.

"These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family," Katai wrote in a social media post of his own Thursday, disavowing his wife's comments. "I strongly condemn white supremacy, racism, and violence toward people of color. Black lives matter. This is a mistake from my family and I take full responsibility. I will ensure that my family and I take the necessary actions to learn, understand, listen, and support the black community."